NYPD brings in new breed of bomb-sniffing dog

At a time when security officials are dealing with fallout from cargo and letter bomb plots in Europe, the NYPD said they will bring a new type of bomb detection dog to patrol the subways and other high profile targets, officials told Newsday.

The so-called "vapor wake" dogs, which constantly sniff the air for bomb chemicals, will be deployed at the end of the month with the NYPD emergency services unit and the transit police after officers complete their training in a few weeks, said police spokesman Paul Browne.

A decision by the NYPD to begin using the dogs was made before the latest terror plot was detected in Europe involving air cargo parcel bombs containing the explosive PETN and destined for the United States. On Monday, police in Greece uncovered an apparently unrelated anarchist plot to send letter bombs to various embassies.

Tuesday, German police said they disarmed an explosive device sent to the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel. The discovery of the bomb in Germany came hours after small mail bombs exploded outside the Russian and Swiss embassies in Athens.

Greek police announced the country's civil aviation authorities were suspending all deliveries of mail and parcels abroad for 48 hours. A police statement says the freeze will allow authorities to check for the existence of more mail bombs.

In New York, the NYPD didn't disclose the exact number of canines to be deployed. But those used by the NYPD are also being used by Amtrak police, the U.S. Capitol Police and the Federal Protective Service, said Robert Tucker, chief executive of T&M Protection Resources, a private security company which uses the dogs locally.

Vapor wake canines were developed by the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University in Alabama, said the school on its website. The dogs, usually sporting breeds, are put into the program at birth and learn to "detect an explosive's vapor-wake, after a person has transited an area, and follow the vapor-wake to the explosive source," according to a description of the program on the website.

While the vapor wake dogs are particularly useful in detecting potential suicide bombers, Tucker said they are useful for other situations.

"I think it is a great method for cargo [inspection]," said Tucker.

The cargo bomb originated in Yemen and is believed by U.S. and foreign law enforcement officials to have been carried out by al-Qaida followers.

Tuesday, Yemeni officials announced in a symbolic move that they were putting the American-born Anwar al - Awlaki, a key al-Qaida operative, on trial in absentia, believing he killed a French engineer last month.

Also on trial although absent was Ottoman Al-Awlaki, apparently a relative of Anwar, official said. Anwar al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico, is considered by security officials to be a major al-Qaida leader in Yemen, whose rhetoric may have inspired the parcel bomb plot. He uses the Internet to propagate his messages and is being sought by U.S. officials.

A third defendant, Hesham Mohamed Asem, was present in court as prosecutors read out the indictment accusing the three of being part of an armed gang targeting foreigners. Asem was accused of killing the French national with an automatic weapon. Both Al-Awlaki defendants were accused of inciting the shooting by e-mails.

Yemen has long been considered by the United States to be an al-Qaida haven. The trial was adjourned until Saturday so that prosecutors could notify the al-Awlaki defendants through news media reports that they were being charged.

With AP